Cutting off a city police vehicle led to three arrests and the seizure of 12.5 pounds of marijuana from the offending car in the Wilbur section last Friday, police said.
File photo of a Trenton Police car. TRENTON — Cutting off a city police vehicle led to three arrests and the seizure of 12½ pounds of marijuana from the offending car in the Wilbur section last Friday, police said.
A Philadelphia resident was behind the wheel of the car, which had been rented in Pennsylvania, said police, who remain unsure about the destination of the drugs.
Officers Sheila Tatarek and Michael Palnczar were patrolling near Chambers Street and Walnut Avenue about 7:30 p.m. as part of a task force responding to recent shootings in the area. As they drove on the 200 block of Walnut Avenue, a car pulled out from a street parking space and cut them off, said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman.
The officers pulled the vehicle over on nearby Hampton Avenue.
“Officer Tatarek noticed on the passenger seat, she noticed green vegetation — a lot of green vegetation — poking out of a bag,” Kieffer said.
The officers believed the vegetation was marijuana. A search of the car revealed more marijuana in a blue shopping bag that was placed on a child’s car seat. There were no children in the car, Kieffer said.
Even more marijuana was in the trunk, bringing the total of seized drugs to 12½ pounds, Kieffer said.
Everyone in the car was arrested: the driver, 30-year-old Philadelphia man Ajah Rose; passenger Dennis Hayles, a 23-year-old city man; and rear-seat passenger Camille Campbell, a 36-year-old from Trenton.
All three were charged with manufacturing, dispensing or distributing more than five pounds of marijuana, possession of more than 50 grams of marijuana, intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school and intent to distribute within 500 feet of a park.
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.
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